Today in Philly Sports History: Jim Fregosi on WIP Line One, 1994

Today in Philly Sports History: Jim Fregosi on WIP Line One, 1994

Say what you will about Philly sports radio...well, maybe don't say exactly what you will, at least not if you're a high-ranking Philadelphia sports official and there's a risk of it possibly being repeated. Phillies manager Jim Fregosi learned about this the hard way, after some slightly blue comments he made off the cuff on May 14th, 1994, which made their way to WIP personality Howard Eskin. Said Fregosi (exact quote varies): "People who listen to WIP are a bunch of guys in South Philly that [fornicate with] their sisters and the people that work at WIP [fornicate with] their mothers."

Interesting. To his credit (or maybe not), Fregosi owned up to making the comments. "I don't deny saying it," quoth the Manager, "But I must reinforce that by no means does it
reflect my true feelings concerning our fans I sincerely appreciate our
fans." Fregosi also expressed his relative dismay that the quote was repeated in the first place. "Often times we have a general bull session, times where I let my hair
down. Much of the conversation is said in jest [...] It is
understood that any comments made during these bull sessions are not for
public consumption." Bet you Jim's not too much of a Twitter or TMZ fan these days either.

Of course, this would probably have been less of a story--and Fregosi might have been less likely to make the comments in the first place--had the Phillies not struggled so much out of the gate in the 1994 season, a year after making it all the way to the World Series. The Phils were just 14-21 at the time of Fregosi's rant, and things never really picked up momentum from there, the team ending the strike-shortened season with a 54-61 record. Jim never won more than 70 games after his one post-season with the Phillies, and he was fired after the '96 year.

Matt Rhule's first Baylor hires include 4 Temple assistants

Matt Rhule's first Baylor hires include 4 Temple assistants

WACO, Texas -- New Baylor coach Matt Rhule has made some immediate Texas connections by hiring the president of the state's high school coaches who is a former Bears receiver.

Rhule announced his first five hires with the Bears on Friday, three days after being named Baylor's coach. They include four members from his staff at Temple and David Wetzel, the head coach and athletic director the past 13 seasons at Ronald Reagan High School in San Antonio.

Sean Padden will serve as Baylor's director of football operations, similar to his role at Temple the past four years.

Rhule didn't immediately announce the titles and job duties for Wetzel, Francis Brown, Mike Siravo and Evan Cooper. There was also no indication of when the rest of his staff would be completed.

Brown and Siravo were defensive assistants at Temple, and Cooper was director of player personnel for the Owls.

Wetzel, who has coached in the state high school ranks for 25 years, was serving as president of the Texas High School Football Coaches Association. He lettered at Baylor in 1990 and 1991 while playing for Grant Teaff, and also earned a master's degree from the school in 1994. Before Reagan, he was head coach at schools in Killeen and Austin.

Wetzel told the Waco Tribune-Herald that he expects to play a major role in recruiting, but didn't know yet if he'd be coaching offense or defense.

"Given the opportunity, it's really a unique deal," Wetzel told the newspaper. "I feel like it's God's timing for me to be in the right place at the right time."

When Rhule was introduced Wednesday in Waco, he said he had already received about 480 text messages, many from coaches. He also didn't rule out the possibility of some of the current Baylor assistants staying, but said he hadn't had a chance to meet with them. Those assistants were retained from former coach Art Briles' staff with Jim Grobe as acting head coach this season.

NoteBaylor announced Friday that Jalen Pitre, a defensive back from Stafford, Texas, signed a financial aid agreement that will allow him to enroll for the spring 2017 semester after graduating from high school early. Before Rhule was hired, Pitre was the only player verbally committed for Baylor's recruiting class in February. He had 83 tackles, six interceptions and four forced fumbles as a senior.

Dorial Green-Beckham didn't support any charity with his cleats last Sunday.

In reality, he was funding the NFL.

The Eagles' receiver was fined $6,076 by the NFL for wearing Yeezy cleats (Kanye West's shoes), which had no affiliation to a charitable organization or cause, CSNPhilly.com has confirmed. Players around the NFL last weekend wore decorative spikes supporting a charity or cause they felt passionately about as part of the league's My Cleats, My Cause promotion. Green-Beckham was fined because his cleats were unapproved by the league; earlier this season Houston receiver DeAndre Hopkins was fined for wearing Yeezy cleats.